


Secret

by ZXSpectrum



Series: 100 Themes Challenge (DAS) [10]
Category: Harvest Moon
Genre: Gen, Implied Sexual Content, Weirdness, alternative religion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:47:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23278075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZXSpectrum/pseuds/ZXSpectrum
Summary: Over the year she lived on the farm, Sara found out about the villager's quirks.
Series: 100 Themes Challenge (DAS) [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/39068
Kudos: 1





	Secret

It’s been well over a year, since Sara moved to this village and took over her late grandfather’s farm, as he told her to do. It’s been a good year. Sara had always taken to farm life, so adjusting to it was no problem and she enjoyed the work. The residents in the village were very friendly and while she initially had worries that there would only be older people around, there were plenty of girls of her age living here, so she didn’t feel lonely. Yes, Sara enjoyed her life on the farm and looked forward to spend many more years here.

However, over time she got to realize that some of the villagers were a bit… strange.

Now, Sara was a very tolerant girl and only wanted the best for others, so she didn’t hold it against them. And she was well-aware that everyone had things they could never tell others and that it would be awful for them if others talked about it. So, she would never tell anyone else about the peculiar things she saw. Never say a true word about why she not only made sure to lock the door to her house and close the curtains at night, but also barricaded the coop and barn. Or why she washed fruit and vegetables she bought from the village more thoroughly than necessary. Sara didn’t like pastries all that much anymore, that was the only reason she never ate anything from the bakery anymore. And of course, it was purely eccentricity on her part, that she only prayed on her farm and never in the church. Well, at least, that she didn’t mean to offend the Harvest Goddess was absolutely correct.

It all started relatively harmless. While going through the village, she spotted the mayor as he pulled out a wallet from his jacket… only for several photos to fall out too. He didn’t seem to notice and just went on, while looking in the wallet, counting money maybe. Sara didn’t care about that, but the pictures on the ground caught her attention. Walking closer, she saw that they were photos of girls. Girls from the village. None of them looked like they had any idea that they were photographed and particularly the ones that showed them in underwear were pretty questionable. There were even some pictures of Sara herself. While she didn’t like the latter, it all didn’t bother her all that much. After all, even a man of higher age like the mayor had his urges and as long as he didn’t get… physical, everything was fine.

Yes, Sara was a _very_ tolerant young woman.

Still, she collected the photos and threw them away later. And looked over her shoulder a bit more often from then on. She also considered whether to give the mayor some subtle hints about what happened and that he should be more careful in the future, but decided against it. She shouldn’t stick her nose in that matter more than she had to.

It was some weeks later, that she went at night to Ann’s house. She just wanted to ask the tool maker some question about the things she made and feared that she might forget it the next day. People were so friendly and helpful around here, it didn’t seem like a big deal to do that at such a late hour.

However, when Sara knocked at the door, there was no reaction. Neither Ann nor either of her parents answered. Maybe they were still asleep? After trying out the doorknob, she found that it was unlocked and opened easily. She wasn’t sure why she even did that, maybe curiosity got the best of her. It certainly did now and she stepped into the house.

The shop room was just as she expected, a counter, some tools as exhibits and not a person in sight. However, Sara could hear some sounds. A voice that seemed to belong to Ann, but in a way she never heard before. It sounded like she…

Slowly, trying not to make a sound, she made her way to the back of the room and opened the door there, peeking inside the next room. Her eyes went wide at the sight she got there. Ann was sitting on a stool, her red ponytail hanging over her naked back. Actually, she was completely topless. In her position, Sara mostly saw her from behind, but she could see still that, despite her nakedness, Ann’s breast wasn’t completely uncovered. Some kind of transparent cup was put over it, a tube was attached and went from the cup to a device she couldn’t entirely make out, since it wasn’t very bright.

However, she could still see some white fluid in the cup, apparently coming out of the breast and going into the tube. Every time that happened, Ann let out a moan. It was such a bizarre sight, Sara didn’t know what to make of it and only afterwards, when she left the house, she realized what happened.

So, the young inventor was into things like that, huh?

When she made her way home, all thoughts about the tools, she wanted to ask Ann about, forgotten, Sara passed the house of the livestock dealer… And heard some odd sounds there too. Wild mooing of a cow and again moans, this time by a man. Her curiosity piqued, Sara… just went away. It was better that way. She didn’t need to know everything the villagers did and some things are better left untouched. Sure, she may keep her distance from him a bit and make sure that her animals are safe now, but as long as she didn’t _know_ what he was doing, it didn’t have much of an effect on her impression on him.

Sara was a smart, mature girl.

However, aware now that some of the people around here were a bit peculiar, she got curious about what others did. Not even one week after, she went into the village at night again and headed to the flower shop. She mostly just bought seeds from there, but they sold various kinds of plants and produce.

Again, she discovered that the door wasn’t locked, maybe it was normal around here. Being so trusting probably made sense for a small village, but it did seem odd with the things going on. And this house was a good example, as she found Nina on the floor, her lower body completely bare and various fruit and vegetables around her. Some of them seemed to be covered by a clear fluid. She sat with her back to her and Sara couldn’t help but admire her pink fluffy hair, but was still more curious about what she did. Small sighs came from Nina, who moved her arm in front of her, doing… something. Suddenly, she moaned and remained still. Then, she pulled her arm away and Sara could see that she held a cucumber in her hand… covered in the same fluids as some of the other vegetables.

Having seen enough and not wanting to be noticed, Sara left. They sure did funny things with their food around here. Thinking that she should find out more, if only so she could adapt her nutrition properly if necessary, she went to the bakery.

Sure, enough she could see Ellen, the somewhat boyish-looking girl, that lived and worked there inside, doing something strange. Kneading bread at night would be odd, but not entirely inappropriate, enough, but that she did it on the floor was most curious. But that was nothing compared to what happened then, as Ellen knelt above it and a yellow stream appeared from under her skirt, pattering down on the dough, while she let out a sigh in enjoyment.

Sara felt a bit queasy when she thought of the bread roll she ate this morning. And all the other times she bought food from here. She was not going to do that again anytime soon.

Fortunately, when she visited the bar, which was interesting in its own right, it was free from any such things.

Having learned what she needed to know about the nightly activities of the villagers and thinking that she shouldn’t be too nosy, Sara didn’t go into town at night for two months. But then, she wondered about the church. There was no real reason for it, it was just that being a church made it seem like a good target for strange happenings. Maria, the mayor’s daughter, worked there and he was a normal, healthy, older gentleman… just a bit inappropriate and careless.

Then again, this didn’t have to mean that his daughter is normal too and considering that all other girls here turned out to be perverts of some kind…

Not holding back on her curiosity, Sara went over the church on the other side of the village. It looked pretty foreboding at night, but she wasn’t one to get scared easily.

The large doors creaked, as Sara opened them, and moonlight filtered inside, illuminating the rows of benches, stopping just short of the altar. Late at night and with no one around, there was an eerie ambiance around. It was normal for this hour, yet the emptiness of the benches and the altar seemed kind of wrong, while the stained glass windows seemed to exude pressure on her. And of course, it wasn’t the right time to visit a church, yet the feeling that she really shouldn’t be here right now was alarming.

However, that didn’t deter Sara. She walked around the church, looking to see if she could find something interesting. There was no sound or anything that hinted that something was going on, but she still searched around. And found a trapdoor in one corner. It wasn’t even really hidden, it was actually in plain sight and could easily be seen on daylight from nearly everywhere in the church, yet she never knew it was there, having no memory of seeing it before. How odd.

Opening the trapdoor, she saw a ladder going down into the darkness. She wondered if there was another access with proper stairs. Otherwise, that’s quite an impractical cellar. Still, she didn’t look around more and simply climbed down, going deeper and deeper into the depths, not even considering going back when she couldn’t see anything but the entrance above anymore.

Fortunately, when her feet found the floor, she could see light flood from a narrow hallway. Strangely enough, the source were torches on rough stone walls. This must have been build centuries ago. And never refurbished since then.

As Sara went through the hallway, a foul stench entered her nose. She couldn’t place it, but it seemed kind of familiar. It only got stronger the further she went, until she reached an old-looking wooden door. When she pushed it open, the hinges made such a screeching, ear-piercing sound, Sara was sure that they never saw a drip of oil since they were made.

However, the person in the room behind the door didn’t seem to notice. Which was good, considering her appearance. It was indeed Maria, although Sara had some trouble recognizing her, what with her naked body, including her long, otherwise blue hair, being stained with a red fluid. She stood behind a table, on which a red pentagram was painted, while a bowl with red paint in it stood on one edge, a stained knife lay on the other. On the floor, Sara could see what was presumably the source of the “paint”, as several dead chickens, mutilated and cut open were lying around, surrounded by relatively little blood. On the sides of the room were several cages, presumable for the chickens when they were still alive, and some entrails from larger animals hang on hooks from the ceiling for some reason. Maybe it was for the atmosphere.

Maria had a vacant look on her face, her eyes wide open, as if she was looking at something far away, something that lay in another dimension entirely. “Accept this offering from your loyal servant, oh, Lady of Pestilence!” she chanted, her voice booming and calm at the same time. “Oh, Mistress of Decay, Bringer of Unlife! You, who birthed the Six Horned Yngui that rule the ancient stars of Erg Absal, you, who sired The-One-Who-Must-Never-Be-Awakened, you, who are imprisoned in the depths of Shan Garagul, but is not held by any lock.” Maria’s body started shaking wildly and she gripped the table, as if she couldn’t keep herself on her feet otherwise. “You are my mother, my sister, my lover, my existence! I’m nothing without you, for I know the truth written only in the ancient scrolls of Jyghrul’Zakri, that tells of the forbidden history of Brig-Ruul, that we call ‘Earth’, and its people, the Eehbkrii, our eldritch father-brothers!” She was hunched over the table and breathed heavily and irregularly, yet it didn’t seem to disturb her speech. “In my dreams, I hunted with the Oozb, feasted with the Drukyi, danced the unholy dance with the Yim and made love to each of the 101 shapes of Rathulvoh. I passed all of your trials, oh, Arbiter of Nothingness!” Suddenly, she threw up on the table, although it wasn’t as disgusting as the sound coming from her throat, that somehow reminded Sara of a dying goat. But right afterward, Maria continued as if nothing happened. “Oh, I thank you, you, whose name must never be mentioned. I swear, when the stars align and the moon of Iabeth will be sighted, I will present you an offering that will surpass even the feasts of old Ayg-Tepc’khl! Then, the ignorant Egm will scream and wither in horror, while we Tzriil, the chosen ones, will welcome you and the dawn of the new age!”

Now, Sara was a very open-minded girl, who believed in religious freedom. Yet, something about this didn’t sit right with her. It may be the dead chickens, although she appreciated that Maria didn’t use any of hers (she still made sure to safely barricade the coop in the future). Maybe it were the nightmares she had the next weeks, ones about strange, ancient cities with downright cyclopean buildings, even stranger creatures, about eldritch gods she never heard about, yet knew that they really existed, about horrible, mind-shattering truths, that sometimes not only made her wish she was dead, but that she had never existed at all.

But really, she couldn’t hold that against Maria. If she had a foreign religion, one she had to attend to in secret, because her parents would never allow it, who was she to argue? So what, if she did strange rituals, involving killing of chickens and other animals? So what, if she wasn’t entirely human anymore? So, what if she carried Vrat-Fhriurh, the last of the Lady of Pestilence’s unholy children, the immortal fetus, destined to wipe out all of the human race? Thanks to the dreams, she knew that the universe will end in a hundred years anyway, when Abol-Hasharagh, who rested at the core of the black planet Zeurh awakens.

Actually, that may be Sara’s problem with it: Knowing the horrible undeniable truths of the universe was kind of a bummer.

But it wasn’t so bad, really.

In any case, that was the last of Sara’s nightly trips to the village to find out what the people hide. However, that didn’t mean she didn’t go there at night at all anymore. She just found another reason to do so…

* * *

Two knocks. Then three, one right after the other. Then a final knock after a short pause.

Shortly afterwards, the door opened and Sara entered the house. Only for the door to be hastily closed and locked as soon as she was inside.

“It’s been a while,” a sultry voice said behind her. “I was missing you already…”

Sara turned around, smiling at the woman. And what a woman she was. Eve, the bartender of the village, was always very attractive, with her killer figure, her long blonde hair and her red dress. Her current outfit was red too, but much less modest, as it was made entirely out of leather and only covered her breasts and crotch. And emphasized them more than it hid them.

“Now then.” Eve said and pointed a riding crop towards Sara. “Kneel down, you filthy dog!”

As she obediently followed the order of her mistress, as she often did, Sara felt companionship with the villagers. While it didn’t just belong to her alone, she now had a secret of her own.

**Author's Note:**

> I have lots of nostalgia for Harvest Moon GBC (my first HM game) and wanted to do something based on it. So I wrote this... thing. Yeah.
> 
> I think I got a little carried away with Maria's part.


End file.
